The Munich II district court sentenced a young man (22) to seven years in prison for particularly serious rape on Friday.
The young refugee had tortured and sexually abused his victim for over four hours in his apartment in Bad Tölz.
Bad Tölz / Munich - "What a shame, the defendant was on such a good path in Germany," noted the presiding judge Regina Holstein at the beginning of her verdict.
The Eritrean came to the country as a refugee five years ago.
He learned German so well that he hardly ever needed an interpreter during the proceedings.
When he met his future victim on the Tölzer Isarbrücke in August 2020, he had a good conversation with the 26-year-old.
The woman from Tölzer was unhappy with her living situation.
She met with understanding from the young man.
The 22-year-old attacked his victim in his apartment
But then she followed him to his apartment.
He wanted sex there, she didn't want an intimate relationship.
He attacked the young woman, threw her on the bed, choked her, put her in a headlock and threatened her with a beer bottle.
"I can kill you too," he is reported to have said.
The young car mechanic couldn't remember that.
The 26-year-old endured everything in fear of death.
She made it to the bathroom once.
But there she was unable to call for help.
Only hours later did she manage to alert the police.
With presence of mind, she deleted the number so that her tormentor did not suspect anything at first.
In court, the 22-year-old had confessed to sexual intercourse, but described his act as a "devil's tool".
He claimed he was out of his mind.
The presiding judge didn't believe him.
"The defendant had a plan," she said.
Alcoholic he was at most disinhibited, but not severely restricted in his actions.
The defendant cannot remember the threat posed by a bottle
The man denied in court that he should have threatened the woman with a beer bottle.
At most he tried to get to her bag.
The court did not believe him on this point either.
Rather, it saw the credibility of the 26-year-old as a given.
In fact, she hadn't burdened the young man excessively with her testimony and had admitted gaps in his memory herself.
While her physical injuries healed quickly, the young woman continues to suffer the emotional consequences of the rape.
In addition, it was also stressful for her that she had to fight for the morning-after pill to prevent a possible pregnancy.
In addition, the roommates of her apartment no longer stood by her because they did not want to have anything to do with the police.
The 26-year-old had to move out.
Victim accepts apology from perpetrator
The defendant's letter of apology only helped insofar as the young woman knew she had done nothing wrong.
Despite her ordeal, she accepted the apology.
The court charged the defendant with previous crimes of bodily harm, even if they were of a low-threshold nature.
For all these reasons, the judges considered seven years to be appropriate and necessary, not just to atone for the act, but to show the victim that it had been noticed.
Read more news from Bad Tölz & the surrounding area here.
